Lil’ Ed Williams’ Blues Imperials — a Chicago outfit that was defunct for the better part of the ’90s — is back, and has harnessed the same high-energy electric-blues power that originally propelled them from smoky clubs on Chicago’s West Side to concert halls.

“Get Wild!” the band’s

fourth and latest album, finds diminutive Williams slip-sliding away on his electric six-string, performing a dozen originals on a 14-song collection. The other two tracks are by Ed’s uncle (another Chicago slide slinger) the late J.B. Hotto.

The originals employ both contemporary and more traditional blues elements. Besides being a very snappy dresser, Lil’ Ed is a singer who can make his voice sound sweet or raw on command, a skill which is well-documented throughout the songs of “Get Wild!”

On the rock boogie “Compact Man,” Lil’ Ed and the boys are outstanding. Five-foot-nothing Ed sings with self-deprecating humor and giant passion: “I got a little suitcase, I got a little guitar, when I get ready to travel, I get into my compact car.”

“Get Wild!” is the time-tested wisdom of the blues served up by a young, house-rocking band. It isn’t the kind of album that you’ll want to spin every day, but whenever you do, it will please your ear.

NIGHT LIFE

Outsidaz

½ Ruff Life Records

Newark’s eight-man rap collective Outsidaz — whose members have flirted with mainstream success on an individual basis, recording with the likes of the Fugees, Redman and KRS-One — pool their talents on this seven-song EP.

Although the disc is slickly produced, there’s nothing here that separated this rap ensemble from the pack of the wannabes in the hip-hop nation.

Their lyrics are the usual urban-life-is-hard and I’m-tougher-than-you boasts. It isn’t awful to listen to, but Outsidaz are pretty generic, making it easy to confuse them with any of a dozen other rap acts.

Still, this is a first effort, and the group does make you listen up on the title track, “Night Life,” where the rhymes are set to military tattoo percussions. The rap “Money, Money, Money” is also pretty fair, but on such a brief collection one would expect each track to be an out-of-the-park home run. Although they do get a little help from Eminem and Rah Digga, don’t expect to be bowled over by Outsidaz.

SILVER JUBILEE: THE BEST OF ZACHARY RICHARD (1973-1998)

Zachary Richard

Rhino Records

Over the course of his 25-year career, which this best-of album celebrates, Zachary Richard has experimented musically, creating an interesting fusion of rock, Louisiana R&B and zydeco.

The 19 songs on this single-disc collection were gleaned from the man’s 13 albums, with a 50/50 mix of Richard singing in French and English. On this album, Richard is at his best when he isn’t attempting mass pop appeal with sappy ballads — English or French. The French ballads are a little worse, especially “Cap Enrage.” For a best-of disc, he should have stuck with the traditional Cajun tunes that he does so well.

For one absolute, pure-fun selection on this retrospective, listen for “Who Stole My Monkey.”

If you’re interested in Richard, this is a pretty good disc, but fans beware — if you’re looking for the man singing his famous cover of “Big River,” or “The Battle of New Orleans,” for reasons unknown, those tracks didn’t make the cut.

And if you’re looking for a disc of Cajun/zydeco music, you’d be better served with the more traditional music in the Beausoleil catalog.

THE SCREEN BEHIND THE MIRROR

Enigma

Virgin

In the world of dance pop, few bands have had as broad a musical vision as Enigma, or as great an impact on pop culture.

Enigma?

Yeah, Enigma — the band whose ’91 album, “MCMXC A.D.,” spent an incredible five years on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and featured the unique combination of Gregorian chant and dance-hall rhythms.

Michael Cretu, the creative force behind Enigma, is back with “The Screen Behind the Mirror,” an 11-song disc that plays with similar notions of mixing new and old sounds with a hip-shaking beat.

This kind of music wouldn’t be the first choice of most for concentrated listening, but as ambient background for another activity, or even as the score to movie, Enigma would be an excellent selection.

On this disc, which is mostly instrumental, Cretu makes his best music with “Traces (Light and Weight),” where the miked sound of droplets striking a pool keeps the song’s time. The song seems complex, yet it’s built on a simple melodic frame, with musical flourishes added.

Without question, the better your stereo speakers are, the more you’ll enjoy the music on this disc.